


Hearth

by Sesenka



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Comedy, Drama, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Friendship, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-26 09:26:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16678951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sesenka/pseuds/Sesenka
Summary: One dragged listlessly towards a fate he's only ever known suddenly finds that those he'd thought of as obstacles are now showing him that there's a new destiny he can reach for, but it'll depend on whether or not he has the strength himself to carry himself the rest of the way.





	Hearth

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also so happy ONCE AGAIN to know KH III is coming out for real...this makes me so happy.
> 
> Happy enough to try my hand at writing another KH fanfic with another pairing I've come to love. Hopefully it'll be enjoyable for you all too!

Vanitas frowned as he looked down at the food that had been set out in front of him. It was barely enough to feed a child, let alone someone who went through rigorous exercise every day. Which meant it was another day of going out and stealing someone else’s food.

 

It wasn’t unusual for him to live like this and he was used to it by now. His caretaker – his _master_ – gave him only what was needed – just barely and sometimes not at all if he forgot.

 

He often was expected to go out and wreak havoc as according to his Master’s plans. Causing chaos and destruction would help to further them, or whatnot. Vanitas didn’t care, as he knew that with the kind of powers that he had no one else would accept him – his Master had told him as much and demonstrated that too to a terrifying degree.

 

Still, it was a shitty life, but once Master Xehanort had assured him by the end of it he’d help him end his suffering. So it was better than nothing.

 

…

 

“You’re going to start attending school.”

 

Vanitas looked up from a comic book he had pilfered and gave Xehanort an incredulous look. The old man had walked in while he was lounging on the sofa and declared it so with his tone indicating that it was final.

 

The black-haired boy didn’t even know why it was necessary. Xehanort had found him abandoned so many years ago and taught him all that he needed to know by homeschooling and such, so why…?

 

“Unfortunately, as I’m going to be attending to some business in another country for a year, someone will need to make sure you are on top of your lessons.”

 

Vanitas made a face and said, “I can do it myself.”

 

There was a moment of silence and then Xehanort said, “You will be starting tomorrow. Be prepared to get up at around 8 AM in the morning – I’ll take you on your first day. After that, you’ll be able to manage just fine without my presence once you know the way to Departure High.”

 

Apparently, Xehanort didn’t trust him to do it himself.

 

Vanitas groaned, and his face met the comic book. He hated his life.

 

…

 

Once the black-haired boy arrived, he saw that there were many other children and elder teens walking in the halls. Xehanort had completely abandoned him as expected, and Vanitas made his way to his so-called classroom.

 

Once he walked in, the teacher introduced him to the class and instructed him to sit next to a short-haired blond – someone who he recognized on his daily escapades in terrorizing the city next to the town. It was Ventus, otherwise known as the super-hero (or super hero kid) Wayward Wind. God, what a stupid name.

 

The blond didn’t recognize him, which was only natural. His helmet concealed his face and also distorted his voice – not that Vanitas had said anything yet. Ventus had, however, with that stupid bright big smile on his face. “Hi, nice to meet you! Do you want to be friends?”

 

Vanitas rolled his eyes and said, “No.”

 

“Oh.”

 

Vanitas then ignored the way the boy’s face fell, and also a glare coming his way from another blond-haired boy who looked almost exactly the same. If he were to venture a guess, he would’ve supposed that they were twins, though he’s never seen the other blond on the battlefield.

 

He didn’t give a shit, anyway.

 

…

 

“What’s wrong, shrimp? You too scared to say anything to us?”

 

Vanitas found himself surrounded by some beefy as hell assholes, who apparently were members of the football team or some nonsense. He wasn’t intimidated in the slightest, because he could just have them writhing and screaming on the floor in pain if he so much as twitched his right hand. His power of darkness is pretty handy like that.

 

Summoning those monsters from darkness were definitely out of the question on school grounds but something more inconspicuous was undoubtedly permissible.

 

He proceeded to act indifferent for now, and that made another one of them ask, “Do you think you’re too good to answer when you’re being spoken to?”

 

Vanitas then sucked in a breath before he spat at the feet of one of them. Then he gave a smirk as he said, “You’re not worth it.”

 

That made the expression for one of them twist into fury and then one of the jocks said, “Unlucky for you, no one will notice you’re out here around lunch time. So maybe a little roughing up is in order.”

 

It’s true. Where he was right now (on the top of the building) was where no one else happened to be for the moment. Vanitas thought it’d be a great place to go for some alone time but it’s a pain to be proven wrong.

 

Before one of them can even try (or Vanitas could begin to break them), someone shouted, “Hey! Leave him alone!”

 

This made two of them curse as another stocky male came over – he had striking blue eyes and wild brown hair. Another recognizable face as one of those heroes he’s come across – he was called the “Tempered Will”. Not as dumb as Ventus’ name but it sounded too ridiculous to him in a way he couldn’t really put together just yet.

 

His real name was Terra.

 

The male could be pretty damn dumb sometimes, though. He saw them apologize to the brunet, and one of them gave Vanitas the evil eye as if to suggest this wasn’t finished. Then, they were off, leaving just him and the brunet, who drew closer with this disgusting worried look in his eyes. He bet he was just faking it to look good; that’s how all people usually were.

 

They only made sure they got the glory out of any situation somehow.

 

Terra asked, “Hey, are you alright? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

 

Vanitas rolled his eyes as he said, “I’m not some kind of delicate piece of glass. I’m fine. How about you just go away? You’re so annoying.”

 

The brunet rubbed the back of his head and muttered, “…At least there were more words spoken than just a simple ‘no’.”

 

Vanitas’ expression scrunched up as he said, “ _Huh_?”

 

Terra shrugged as he replied, “It’s nothing. But, before I go, I just want to let you know that if you need anything you can find me. I know first day’s hard and it’s even more difficult when you’re coming through half-way of your first year. Look, just—”

 

The brunet scribbled his phone number on some sticky note he just whipped out, making Vanitas sigh when he held it out to him. “—take this. You can call me anytime – well, hopefully not when I’m in the middle of class, but you know what I mean. Also, my name’s Terra, I’m a senior here.”

 

“…If I take this, will you finally leave me alone?”

 

Terra smiled sheepishly and he said, “Yeah.”

 

Vanitas snatched it from the other male’s hands and stuffed it sullenly into his right pocket. Then, he felt a hand lightly land upon his shoulder and he flinched away from it, looking at Terra as if he were poison. The teen looked a little surprised at that before he said, “…Sorry. I’ll see you around.”

 

He supposed Terra was trying to be comforting, but that shoulder was still hurting from last night’s punishment when Xehanort had decided he wasn’t putting enough effort in their last training session before the old man went abroad. Maybe that’s also why said elder had made sure to make it exceptionally painful – not enough so he couldn’t function but enough to make a point.

 

Maybe it had been good Terra had shown up at all. There was a chance he wouldn’t have been able to incapacitate them all at once before one of them could get a lucky hit and that might be a pain to deal with.

 

…

 

“Vanitas, please pay attention. We’re supposed to be working on this together.”

 

The black-haired boy glared at his partner – it was an older female with blue short hair and blue irises. Another easily recognizable face as she was another hero, and she was the most formidable of them all. The Spellweaver.

 

Now _that_ was a name for a hero. Her real name was Aqua, which was quite an unusual name – sure so was Ventus but it was more notable because of her prowess, he thinks.

 

For a moment, Vanitas’ thoughts wandered as Aqua began to talk to him about their current art project. As art classes weren’t always restricted by class year, this is how a senior and junior were stuck together on the same task in the same class.

 

Great, he was spacing out again. Maybe he had underestimated how badly last night had gone, but it didn’t seem so bad until he was moving around so damn much. He blamed Xehanort, of course.

 

By now, Aqua appeared worried as she said, “…Are you feeling alright? You’ve been looking more and more pale by the minute.”

 

She even put a hand on his forehead, which he lightly flicked at until she pulled it away.

 

Vanitas grumbled, “I’m fine. Let’s just finish this dumb thing.”

 

…

 

By the time school was over for the day, Vanitas wanted to kill someone, and it was the worst experience of his life. People were so damn noisy or irritating all the time – nevermind too caught up in themselves to even care most of the time and this was just all on day one. But, it looks like he’s got to put up with it for awhile.

 

He’s not in the mood to deal with Xehanort’s wrath. He’d find out if he wasn’t attending and it’d be hell.

 

Sometimes he could get away with disobeying him, but other times not so much. This was one of those times, even if Xehanort had not said so in exactly those words.

 

When Vanitas reached the mansion, he ascended the stairs and made sure to land on his bed. He kind of wondered if he’d be able to find food in the fridge later, but decided he wanted to sleep first.

 

…

 

Homework in high school was a pain, Vanitas found.

 

Only because Xehanort expected the best from him—he made it a priority for the black-haired male to send whatever he received on his report card to him. He also made it clear that he wasn’t expecting anything less than perfect scores, which infuriated him to an obscene degree. But a large part of him was absurdly scared in failing him – if he did, he’d be tossed to the streets and that would be that. Or maybe he’d suffer a horrid punishment.

 

That being said, equations on finding the perimeters and such were his number one enemy and they were an utter pain in the ass.

 

This is why Vanitas threw his math book at the wall in his room and then sighed as he stared up at the ceiling.

 

…

 

Vanitas stared blankly and asked, “A tutor?”

 

The teacher nodded, saying, “Since you are one of those who have just recently transferred into the school as a junior, there is a program in which someone would be able to tutor you in the subject you’re struggling in. Seeing as that’s going to be your math course, we’ve picked someone from the senior class who’d be able to assist you with that.”

 

The black-haired boy just looked sullen and said, “Fine, whatever.”

 

At that moment, the door opened and revealed a certain brunet who gave him a smile of sorts which made Vanitas stare blankly. Then he looked back at the orange-haired teacher, who had a solid and straight face the whole entire time. “He’s too stupid, pick another.”

 

Terra nearly fell over and he said, “I’m not—!”

 

The teacher just frowned and said, “—As he is the only available choice at this time, you’ll have to make do. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

 

It looks like their monthly review session was over, as the teacher just left and Terra looking kind of miffed. Vanitas smirked at him as he said, “What’s wrong, are you regretting helping me out now? It’s true, anyway.”

 

Terra said, “I’m not the one currently struggling with math at the moment, so you might want to think twice about what you’ve just said. And for the record, no, I don’t regret it.

 

Now, come on, we have some stuff to review since we both have a free period for this right now.”

 

Vanitas frowned and then he groaned…just great.

 

…

 

After school had just ended for the day, Terra approached him at the locker and asked, “…Hey, Vanitas, do you want to join me? I’m going to be hanging out with some friends and thought maybe it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

 

The black-haired male stared at him like he had two heads, and not too far away he could see a certain blond-haired boy sneaking glances their way, trying to be inconspicuous about it but failing due to his trained eye. He rolled his eyes and said, “That sounds stupid. Of course not.”

 

Terra frowned, and he said, “Alright. Well, there’ll be other chances, so I’ll ask you sometime later if they come up.”

 

Then the brunet left before Vanitas could say ‘Don’t bother’ and he sighed. It was so irritating, they just wanted to try to look like good people befriending the new kid, it was total bullshit.

 

…

 

As the weeks passed, Vanitas got used to things and trying to pay attention to Terra when he was giving him tips during their tutor sessions, but he had a hard time doing that and instead often felt like being a nuisance.

 

Today was one of such days.

 

The brunet asked, “Did you make sure to read about how to solve the problems in chapter three?”

 

“No.”

 

Terra sighed and said, “Look, I wasn’t—and I’m still not—the best when it came to studying books but even I know you have to actually read in order to learn this type of thing. So, let’s go through it together.”

 

Vanitas sneered, and he said, “Make me.”

 

The brunet said, “I shouldn’t have to make you do this. If you don’t learn this part, you’ll have trouble passing. “

 

The black-haired boy groaned. “Can we just take a break?”

 

“Vanitas, we’ve only been at this for five minutes…”

 

Vanitas just let his head hit the table instead. Maybe if these tutoring sessions were after school he could’ve gotten away with it, he thinks.

 

…

 

“It’s him again,” A blond-haired boy in green get up and, in a cape, said, as he pointed to a male in black and red gear, as well as a black helmet that effectively concealed his true identity. Right next to the blond is a blue-haired female and a brown-haired male in similar wear as each other, but with blue and yellow-red colors respectively.

 

Vanitas had donned his guise as The Veiled Darkness knowing that today was one of the days he needed to get out and cause chaos in the city. Today, he had decided to take it out on a hapless store keeper, blasting the windows out with a wave of darkness, and also sending his monsters around to do some serious property damage in the area. It was the type of fun that he enjoyed the most.

 

The only downside to the creations of his monsters – The Unversed – was that whenever someone struck them down, it hurt. But, he had gotten used to that, so he was prepared for it when it happened.

 

Aqua had the task of doing that today, wiping them out solidly with her masterful command over spells that would make anyone jealous.

 

Terra then said, “This time we’re going to bring you down for good. Come on, Ven!”

 

Vanitas scoffed, knowing how to play this his way. So, he immediately brought out darkness and had it wrap around some stray bystander’s neck as he stated coldly, “Come any closer, and he’s dead.”

 

He enjoyed the horrified looks the two had. How priceless. “Now, you’re going to let me do whatever I want and just stand there.”

 

Ventus shouted, “ _No_!”

 

The black and red clad boy laughed harshly before he said, “But _yes_.”

 

It was easy to conjure up enough spell of darkness, this time appearing beneath the blond and submerging him completely in the throes of pitch, black and nightmares – the attack acted as if were clawing through him as if an Unversed held him in one place before hacking at the blond repeatedly. He could hear his screams as it tore through him and his defenses with ease—this is what he gets for letting his guard down. He heard Terra yell out his friend’s name, and with one swing of his hand seemed to just… _cleave_ through the darkness with his own, cancelling it out.

 

That made Vanitas raise a brow. That was new.

 

Him cradling in his arms Ventus was also new, but the look of anguish on his face was…absolutely _delightful_. Ventus then said, opening his eyes, “I’m okay, Terra. He just caught me off guard.”

 

Aqua landed into the fray at this time and Terra helped Ventus to his feet, before the brunet declared, “People like you…are _beyond_ hope or redemption. When we’re finished with you, there’ll be nothing left.”

 

 _We’ll see about that,_ Vanitas thought, trying to ignore the way those words stung in his chest. It didn’t matter, he told himself, he didn’t care about what Terra or anyone else thought or felt.

 

When Vanitas brought forth more of his Unversed, Aqua suddenly shouted, “Now!”

 

Vanitas’ brows furrowed, but he ignored it, thinking it better to have them all attack the trio at once while they were in one place. He was also in the process of bringing out his actual weapon when a light in the form of a multitude of rays shot through all of the dark creatures he summoned, obliterating them immediately and quickly, before it reached him.

 

He brought up a shield of darkness that kept himself from being immediately overwhelmed, but the light was too strong, and it brought through easily.

 

Vanitas screamed as it felt the attack connect with his body and the worst part of it was that it felt as if the pain – or rather, the attack – seemed to last _forever_ until it dispersed, and little streams of darkness exited from his body before dispersing. His knees then hit the floor before the rest of his body did as he crumpled on the sidewalk.

 

But he had a chance to sneak a glance at what had caused such an attack – it looked like the three had been holding up charms of some type. He imagined it was Aqua’s fault for the ingenuity; not that he could think much about it as everything hurt so much he could barely move or think.

 

“…He’s not dead, is he?”

 

 _Of course_ Ventus would be the first to ask, and then Terra said, “He might be.”

 

For some reason that might Vanitas’ heart jump. Would they try to kill him if they knew he were alive? It was likely.

 

In the next moment he forced himself by sheer will to summon a dark portal from where he lay and submerge himself into it, before he was gone.

 

Aqua watched as this happened and let out a relieved sigh as she said, “…It looks like he’ll be just fine. But, we’re going to be doing a lot of clean up.”

 

Ventus pouted at the idea of cleanup as he said, “…Aw.”

 

The blue-haired female and brunet shared looks, and then the brunet added, “Or we could get out of dodge and go home to heal up.”

 

Aqua went over to help up the only wounded pedestrian (the only one Vanitas had been holding hostage) and replied, “I think that might be for the best. After we get this civilian back safe.”

 

…

 

Vanitas appeared within the mansion, across from the stairs that lead up towards his room but didn’t even so much as move. Instead, he lay there for quite a while before blacking out.

 

When the next day came, Ventus entered into class and noticed that there was a vacancy next to him. He wondered idly if Vanitas got sick…

 

“Ventus Strife! Pay attention!”

 

The blond looked apologetic at the teacher, who was already cranky enough and he rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry…”

 

…

 

When Vanitas returned to school a day later, he was witness to so many people getting along with each other…and seeing this made him resentful of their good lives. He wanted to completely and utterly _destroy_ them, to make it plain and simple.

 

It didn’t help that his body fucking ached, but he knew if he were out too long Xehanort may find out and that’d be trouble he couldn’t deal with for the moment.

 

The particulars were halted once he entered the cafeteria for lunch time, as he felt his stomach rumble. His eyes quickly swept across the busy area, where there were lines and people chatting, unaware of his presence—just how he liked it, really. Vanitas supposed he could swipe some unfortunate’s food and then be on his way, so he headed towards a table to do exactly just that, noticing someone had left some unattended.

 

Once he reached out to grab the lunch box with food in it, he made his way towards the exit…only to see it blocked by a certain brunet.

 

Vanitas made a face, wondering why Terra always seemed to be there even when he didn’t need him to be. “Move out of my way.”

 

Terra said, “Wait.”

 

Then before Vanitas realized what happened, he snatched the (now closed) lunch box out of his hands. Terra’s expression hardened a little and he said, “This is Aqua’s. Why were you carrying it around?”

 

The black-haired boy thought about denying it, but it’d be pretty obvious, so he said, “I was going to eat what’s inside of it, obviously.”

 

At that moment, he expected Terra to punch him in the face or yell at him. He knew Aqua was one of his precious _friends_ and it’d show that he was only helping him earlier because he was asked to or felt he needed to then out of a sense of _real_ generosity. Not that if he were made it any better.

 

Instead, Terra’s face softened, and Vanitas hated it immediately. “Why don’t you follow me over here for a moment?”

 

For some reason, he followed Terra back to the lunch table, and watched him set down two lunchboxes—his and Aqua’s. He asked, “What, are you going to make me apologize to her?”

 

“No.”

 

Vanitas blinked at the response and then saw Terra’s gesture – him patting the seat next to him – for him to sit down. Unsure of what else to do or say, Vanitas did that.

 

Then, the brunet stuck his spoon into the mashed potatoes he had brought with him and Vanitas was about to say something, only for Terra to take the chance to insert the spoon filled with food into his now open wide mouth. The black-haired boy chewed through the food before swallowing and then he said, “What the hell was that for?!”

 

Terra smiled, and he said, “I thought I should offer to share some of my food since you don’t have any.”

 

“I—”

 

Another spoonful was gently inserted into his mouth and Vanitas once again had to process the food before swallowing it. He gave Terra a disdainful look, but after that he continued to allow it…after all, it was really good food and he was hungry.

 

Terra then said, “…You know, the face you made earlier when you were surprised—"

 

Vanitas snapped at him, “What about it? Don’t think I’m going to be in your debt or anything like that for this, by the way.”

 

“Yeah, I know. That’s not why I was doing it.”

 

The black-haired boy looked confused and at that, Terra said, “That face—the one you’re making right now. It’s kind of cute.”

 

Vanitas made a face, feeling his cheeks heat up a little, before flicking a pea from Terra’s lunchbox at the brunet, smirking as he watched the male say, “Hey!”

 

Ventus and Aqua arrived around this time, sitting at the lunch table with drinks and an extra lunchbox (it was the blond’s). The blond asked, “You’re joining us today?

 

Vanitas shrugged, and Terra then said, “He is, but he forgot his lunch today, so I thought it was a good idea to share some of mine with him.”

 

The black-haired boy elbowed the brunet. Hard.

 

Terra didn’t even flinch, and Vanitas grumbled. Ventus and Aqua looked at each other, before Aqua said, “Well, I think I might’ve brought a little more than I can handle by myself, so why not have some of mine too, Vanitas?”

 

Ventus smiled and said, “Me too!”

 

Vanitas stared at the food and thought, _Would you be sharing this with me if you knew who I REALLY was…? Idiots…_

…

 

The bell rang, and Vanitas watched as everyone began to gather their things and head out from their final class, which was a music one. He watched as Ventus spoke to what must have been his twin brother, and he took a deep breath, before standing up out from his seat. At the sound of the black-haired boy standing up, the two looked over.

 

Vanitas then stared back, before Ventus said to the other blond, “I’ll catch up with you later after I hang out with my friends, okay?”

 

The other blond stared at Vanitas some more before he said to Ventus, “Yeah, sure. Be careful.”

 

“You too!”

 

After that, the other blond left just the two alone in class, and Ventus smiled as he approached Vanitas. “Do you wanna hang out with us? As in…Terra, Aqua, and me? It can be pretty nice…”

 

There was a moment of silence between them, and Vanitas watched as Ventus held his breath a little. He could only think, _God, he’s such an idiot…_

 

Then Vanitas said, “…Yeah, sure.”

 

At that, Ventus blinked before he seemed to realize what Vanitas had just said and jumped into the air, giving a _whoop whoop_ that made Vanitas stare at him like he had two heads. The blond then remembered where he was and blushed a little before he said, “…Sorry, I just got kind of excited.”

 

Vanitas replied, “Yeah I noticed. Are you always this idiotic or what?”

 

“Hey, don’t be mean!”

 

The black-haired boy grabbed his books and began to shove them into his backpack.

 

When he turned to look back at Ventus, he noticed he was pouting and he sighed. “…What? Don’t tell me you can’t handle it.”

 

Ventus replied, “I can handle it just fine, thanks!”

 

Vanitas then said, “You probably shouldn’t have bothered. You already know what I’m like. You’ll just regret it—all of you.”

 

At that, the blond shook his head and said, “No, I won’t. Now, let’s get going, come on!”

 

“…Ugh, fine.”

 

What had he gotten himself into…?

 

…

 

Vanitas walked close-by the other three as they headed deeper into the quiet town they were in, and he only looked up from his phone when they stopped.

 

It looked like some sort of ice cream shop. He snorted and said, “Look, if we’re getting ice cream, I don’t have anything to pay you—”

 

Ventus then said, “Don’t worry, I’ll pay for you! What’s your favorite kind?”

 

He tried to protest but for some reason nothing came out. He remembered their fight a few days ago and felt a strange and heavy pull at his chest. Clearly now they were all being so kind…stupidly kind and knowing them, they wouldn’t ask for something in return.

 

…Or would they? Would the other shoe drop sometime soon, and they’ll show their true colors when he least expects it? That’s how it had happened with Master Xehanort.

 

Ventus waved a hand in front of his face as he asked, “Helloooo?”

 

Vanitas smacked at the hand and said, “I don’t fucking know, I’ve never had ice cream before. Vanilla, I guess.”

 

He paused and realized he hadn’t meant to suggest a flavor. Well, whatever, he’s getting something free out of it, might as well take advantage while he still could.

 

Terra said, “We should come to this place more often whenever you hang out with us, then. Ice cream tastes pretty good.”

 

The black-haired boy said, “Whatever…”

 

As they walked in, they all began to order their flavors, with each paying with their own money with the exception of Vanitas. He sat down as he felt abysmal; he probably should’ve declined to hanging out with them now that he thought about it. He was still recovering from that fight that had gone wrong—usually things didn’t go that bad, he probably just let it all get to his head, and that’s why he fucked up.

 

_“People like you…are beyond hope or redemption. When we’re finished with you, there’ll be nothing left.”_

Vanitas felt his stomach twist as he watched Terra and the rest laugh at some joke about something that had happened on TV. Something about a show called ‘Mojo’s Strange Adventures’…it was totally dumb.

 

Aqua then handed him some ice cream and said, “I hope you enjoy it.”

 

The black-haired boy wordlessly began to lick at the dessert he had been handled…and he found that it tasted so good. His body was really starting to bother him now and he was turning over excuses in his head to cut and leave, but at the same time, maybe he could finish the ice cream before leaving as it was pretty damn hot. When he came out of his thoughts, he noticed all of them were watching him and he felt his cheeks flush as he asked, “ _What_?”

 

The three looked away, with Terra faking an innocent whistle. God, they were so idiotic sometimes…

 

Ventus, holding his mint flavor ice cream, asked, “You liked it, didn’t you?”

 

Vanitas kept licking it and said, “No.”

 

Terra then asked, “If you didn’t, why are you still eating it?”

 

Then he turned around to grab his chocolate chip one as Aqua was also handed her own flavor—something something raspberry. “Because I feel like not wasting it, obviously.”

 

Ventus laughed and said, “You’re a terrible liar.”

 

At that, the black-haired boy rolled his eyes and took a bite out of it.

 

They all began to chat, with Vanitas adding in his sarcastic or semi-negative commentary when he deemed fit, and it easily made a few more hours pass on by. After they finished up, Vanitas watched the three head towards the door, and rose to his feet to follow.

 

Vanitas met with the floor instead and the sound made a few people in the store look over. Terra had turned at the sound of someone falling and a few gasps, before he hurried over to the black-haired boy, bringing him into his arms. Aqua neared him and quickly rested a hand on the unconscious boy’s shoulder, and then she drew away, shocked. She looked at Terra and said quietly, “They won’t be able to fix this at a normal hospital—some of the wounds he has are darkness-inflicted.”

 

Terra’s expression tightened—they all knew darkness wounds lingered far longer than with any other kind. He wondered if it was The Veiled Darkness—regardless, he knew what they needed to do. “Let’s get him to our place.”

 

Ventus was distracting the others and said, “Sorry, he’s a friend of ours…he’ll be okay, honest. He’s just overtired.”

 

Then he looked worried back at the other three, hoping things were okay.

 

He also hoped he hadn’t pushed Vanitas too hard when he was hurting…he wouldn’t forgive himself if that was the case.

 

…

 

A small black-haired boy looked up at an older man who approached him—around the boy were a few trash barrels and a few other dirty items. Rain splattered on the ground all around them, and it was very clear that the boy was soaked to the bone. His golden eyes peered curiously at the man, who held an umbrella, and then watched as said man reached out to him with one hand.

 

“Come with me.”

 

The boy stared at the hand and he then reached out with his own, small fingers touching the other’s which were much larger than his. Then, he was brought to a car that looked nicer than anything he’s ever seen, and when he got in, that’s when everything changed.

 

…

 

Vanitas opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling, feeling as if his mind was muddled. He heard a voice come to him, asking, “Who did this to you?”

 

He thought he was still dreaming, so he answered in a murmur, “Father did. I wasn’t living up to his expectations at the moment.”

 

Then, he closed his eyes, blissfully unaware as he fell back to sleep that what he had just said was uttered to a certain brunet, who looked shocked and then angry enough that he had to leave the room with just Aqua and Ventus in it.

 

Aqua came out of the room to try to find Terra but she sighed as she didn’t find him in the hallways or even in his room. She figures he must be downstairs in the exercise room punching out some of the bags they have hanging around, so she went down into the room, and she wasn’t exactly surprised to find that some of the bags are lying on the floor. The brunet was sitting down on one of the exercise machines, rubbing his face in his hands. He said, “Aqua…”

 

The blue-haired female came over to place a hand on his shoulder and she said, “I know, it’s not something we expected. But I think we’ll be able to help him if we’re there when he needs it.”

 

Terra said, “I don’t want him to go back there.”

 

The brunet continued before she could say anything, “You know what kind of place I came from before Master Eraqus found me and brought me here. It’s not the same—but it’s similar enough. And it’s part of why I became a hero—so that people didn’t have to worry about getting hurt.”

 

When he was younger, and before he had been brought into Master Eraqus’ care, his parents were always drunk and vented their frustrations on him. It was lucky that on a visit to seeing him living in those conditions, the elder man had made sure to find a way to steward him into his care. Much different than how it was from Aqua, Ventus and Roxas—who had been brought in from orphanages.

 

Aqua said, “You couldn’t have known—the rest of us sure didn’t.”

 

“I know…I just—I don’t know.”

 

She frowned and wondered if it was just that. It’s possible it could’ve caused him to have a flashback, which made her pause in her thoughts, and step closer to bring him into a hug, which he returned for a short moment before pulling away. Terra said, “…Thanks Aqua.”

 

Then there was another pause as a dark look came over his eyes. “I just better not see who did that to him.”

 

Terra could only think, … _Otherwise I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to control myself._

 

…

 

When Vanitas awoke, he saw that it was morning, and quickly sat up upon noticing the surroundings were unfamiliar. He quickly burst out of his room and looked around to try to get a good read on where he was, and then he heard the sound of someone’s small yawn. The black-haired boy turned to see that there was a certain blond with messy hair coming out of his sleeping bag. “Good mornin’ Vani…”

 

Vanitas blinked, looking confused. “…What? How’d I get here?”

 

Ventus said, “Oh. Terra carried you and Aqua helped heal you up ‘cuz of you being really hurt…”

 

“Oh.”

 

 _Great_ , Vanitas thought, _more leverage for them to have against me should they try to collect on my debt or something._

 

Ventus then smiled sleepily and asked, “Do you want to join us for breakfast?”

 

Vanitas rolled his eyes. “So, what are you guys? Some type of weirdoes who can use supernatural abilities?”

 

“Kind of! Aqua, Terra and me are superheroes. We help people out and protect them whenever they’re in trouble!”

 

The black-haired boy snorted and Ventus frowned before he said, “It’s true. We’re going to be protect you too, Vanitas.”

 

Vanitas sneered and replied, “I don’t _need_ your protection—”

 

A knock at the door came just then and they heard Roxas’ voice. “Food’s ready. Come down and get some if you actually want any.”

 

Ventus smiled at Vanitas and said, “Let’s get going!”

 

The other boy sullenly muttered, “This conversation isn’t over…”

 

But it looks like it was. For now.

 

…

 

Aqua and Terra fixed up a hearty meal for everyone—which would include Ventus, Roxas, and Vanitas. The father was away on some important business so Eraqus wasn’t present, which Vanitas was appreciative of. He knew of the man from Xehanort’s talkings and also knew the man was obsessed with keeping everything in order and with not a whisper of darkness about.

 

His life force unfortunately was tied to the darkness—something Xehanort had educated him on and had mentioned was most unusual as many, who were _human_ at least, did not have their souls merged with their ability or element for those so inclined. He wondered if that meant he was a monster instead, though.

 

Vanitas decided it was a good time to flick a piece of egg at Ventus and the blond said, “Hey!”

 

Aqua frowned and said, “No playing with your food, Vanitas—”

 

She sighed when Ventus flicked some egg back and Terra just laughed. “Looks like that’s two you’re going to need to put in time out.”

 

Roxas just shook his head. “Make sure to leave me out of this, whatever this is.”

 

…

 

Vanitas stepped outside for a bit, blinking blearily at the bright sunny sky. He supposed it was lucky that they had been going out on a Friday or he would’ve missed some more school. He heard the door open and close behind him, which made him turn to see the brunet coming towards him. “Vanitas, do you have a moment? There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

 

The black-haired boy said, “If it’s about math, then hell no.”

 

He watched Terra smile a little as he gave a short laugh. “No, something more important than math…”

 

The black-haired boy then shrugged and then when the brunet opened his mouth, and the words came out, Vanitas’ eyes widened.

 

“You told me what happened with your Father last night. If there’s anything I can do for you…let me know.”

 

A breeze came on by, blowing a few fallen leaves from the ground in between the both of them and around them. As the light shone in through the trees’ branches and still hanging leaves, Vanitas felt his stomach drop and a bit of shame rise in him.

 

He…can’t believe he told them that. But at the same time, Aqua’s healing explained why he didn’t feel physically like he was dying. Still, this was less than ideal—having a weakness spelled out to them like that made him feel like a failure and before Vanitas knew it, he turned away from Terra and made a mad dash, ignoring the shouts for him to wait.

 

By the time Vanitas had stopped running, he realized that he had reached a portion in the woods where there was a running, clear, and bright river. He looked at his reflection and then froze.

 

He was still wearing PJs.

 

When did he even put them on?

 

…It was at this moment that Vanitas vaguely remembered something like a voice telling him ‘if he’s awake, here are some clothes for bed’ and then maybe dressing in them. He hated that he hadn’t thought about it twice either; he blamed it all on his state of mind and just everything this week. It absolutely _sucked_.

 

“Vanitas?”

 

Vanitas whipped his head in the direction of the voice, kind of surprised to see the brunet jog after him and then stop a little before him, looking relieved. _This guy doesn’t know when to give up, does he?_ , was the thought that came through the black-haired male’s head. “I was worried for a moment and I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

 

The black-haired boy hated the way his chest clenched at the idea of Terra _worrying_ about him. It’s at this moment that he took more in of the elder teenager’s features—his unruly brown hair, those soft, bright sapphire eyes, and his … admittedly really amazing body. Because honestly, look at him, who could honestly say the male _wasn’t_ attractive?

 

God, he could imagine Terra over him now, holding him down and—

 

Vanitas mentally kicked himself. What the hell was he thinking?

 

“…Uh, Vanitas? Did you hear what I was saying?”

 

Suddenly, he panicked. He can’t let him know that he was just fucking ogling him and thinking of him like _that_. Quickly, Vanitas put on a mask of confidence and he smirked, saying, “Yeah, obviously.”

 

Terra raised a brow, like he didn’t believe him, and then he asked, “…So, did you want to come along to the place I talked about or no?”

 

“Sure.”

 

Vanitas had _no_ idea what he had agreed to, but he figured it couldn’t be too bad.

 

…

 

After borrowing some edgy clothes from Roxas, Terra had taken him to a nice place after they went clothes shopping because apparently the brunet was concerned he didn’t have enough _clothes_. He didn’t bother to convince him otherwise either because hey, free stuff.

 

The restaurant wasn’t super upscale or anything, it was just a really nice Asian one with some nice options, and Vanitas accidentally ordered more food than he could eat. By the end he said, “You’re going to make me gain weight or something.”

 

Terra smiled at him and said, “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

 

Vanitas could only think, _What gives him the right to be able to smile like that? Ugh, I can’t believe I might actually not hate him. But, I don’t get it…why now?_

“Hey, Vanitas…”

 

Golden eyes looked up from dessert and noticed the thoughtful look on the brunet’s face. “…I was wondering if, maybe…”

 

Terra lightly rubbed his own cheek with his finger, looking kind of nervous about something. Vanitas’ eyebrows furrowed as he asked, “Spit it out already.”

 

The brunet looked away for a moment, making the black-haired boy confused all of a sudden. _What could he be nervous about? He’s never nervous about anything!_

 

Terra then looked back at him, sighing. “Look, I—”

 

There was the sound of a crash, which caught both of their attentions, along with a few people’s yells. Terra gave Vanitas a quick glance sand said, “Stay here. I’m going to see what’s going on up there, and if it gets dangerous, I don’t want you getting hurt.”

 

Vanitas snorted, and Terra said, “I’m serious. I’ll be back soon.”

 

The black-haired boy watched as the brunet sped off and picked at the food that was in front of him.

 

Then he slipped out of his seat and snuck after him. When had he _ever_ listened to what someone told him to do?

 

When he reached the double doors leading into the front part of the restaurant, he found that his timing was unfortunate, because in his haste, he ran into them despite the fact that he had a hand on one of the doorknobs.

 

Vanitas opened one door just in time to see Terra (somehow already in his superhero gear) throwing a man in black into a wall. It looked like he had been attempting to rob the restaurant, judging from the bag the man had been holding, the open register and people cowering away. He also saw a gun skid his way and then Terra went over to the now-unconscious man, he saw him place some rope of light around his wrists before binding them together.

 

He sighed, lamenting that he got there too late, but the brunet turned to face Vanitas, and he had the biggest frown on his face he had ever seen.

 

Vanitas knew he was going to get a talking to, but he couldn’t help it. He hated being treated like he was weak, and hated listening to anyone telling him what to do, okay?

 

…

 

The black-haired boy rolled his eyes as Terra said, “You could’ve gotten hurt.”

 

They were on their way back home—or rather not Vanitas’ home but he’s been staying there a few days already so temporary home? Whatever, he didn’t care. He felt embarrassment well up in him again and he hated it. He said, “I could’ve handled myself just fine. I don’t need you to worry about me.”

 

The brunet stopped walking.

 

There was a river beside them and a scarce amount of people walking along this road. He heard the brunet said, “I worry because I _care_ about you.”

 

Then Terra turned around to face him, an intense emotion burning in his eyes.

 

Before Vanitas realized what was happening, Terra’s hands were on his shoulders and he had leaned in close, causing the black-haired boy’s eyes to widen.

 

“Terra! Master’s returned home.”

 

Vanitas felt anger well up when the brunet didn’t kiss him and instead had immediately pulled away to face a certain blond boy and blue-haired woman.

 

Then again, maybe it was for the best. He didn’t want to see Ventus and Aqua kiss him…still, he reached for the brunet’s hand, because he wanted _something_ , and – he just couldn’t help it now. Not after that.

 

He found that Terra’s fingers easily wrapped around his hand and gave it a squeeze, washing the anger away.

 

…

 

Vanitas had slipped out of having to meet whoever their ‘Master’ was and for good reason. He’d heard enough from Xehanort and he was actually kind of nervous that he’d be able to sniff out what kind of abilities he had hidden beneath the surface.

 

He’d heard from Terra that the old man had talking to Aqua about ‘taking care of the dojo’ and whatever other kind of affairs while he was out. Which was fantastic, because Vanitas didn’t want to see him forever—the stars aligned that the man would be travelling abroad for awhile, making this easier than he could’ve ever imagined.

 

Vanitas returned to his ‘home’ only to retrieve more of his clothing and personal affects, before returning back to his new place of residence. Or temporary, for however long they decide they could put up with him.

 

At one point when the brunet was helping him with math, and pointed out what problems he got wrong, the black-haired male decided it was a good time to lay one of his hands atop Terra’s. He smirked as he watched a flush come across Terra’s cheeks. _Wow, our hands are just touching and he’s like this over that? When he’s not being caught up in the moment, he’s so easy to tease_ , Vanitas thought with no small sense of amusement.

 

Maybe today wasn’t a bad day after all.

 

…

 

It was a rainy day when Vanitas saw what’d happened—he was waiting for Terra at the end of the school day like he usually did when Ventus wasn’t there to drag him back to their now-shared home. Except he couldn’t find the brunet anywhere, and so to his growing annoyance, he decided to hunt the other male down.

 

Luckily for Vanitas, he found him sooner than he thought, spotting him a little ways outside of the gym.

 

Unlucky for him, what he’d saw happen in the first place.

 

In his sight was a dark-haired young woman kissing Terra, and it went on long enough that he doesn’t remember leaving, but he does. He was absolutely furious—of course that guy was just screwing around with him. He clearly preferred women over him, and if he actually didn’t want that damn girl, then he would’ve just shoved her away!

 

The black-haired boy slammed the door shut as he came back into his own private room (they’d clearly given him one now that he’s staying) and threw himself onto his bed to grab a pillow and throw it into a wall. That really wasn’t satisfying enough.

 

But of course he wasn’t the one Terra would pick. He just wanted to forget about it—he was just lucky the three wanted to be his friends for some reason. Maybe he if he just imagines the feeling going away, everything can sort of go back to normal. It’s not a big deal, right? So that’s why he’s not crying right now, right?

 

He hated everything, he hated himself, he—

 

A knock at his door came and to his great annoyance, it opened revealing a certain worried-looking blond. “Vanitas?”

 

“Go away.”

 

Ventus frowned and stepped closer, only for Vanitas to growl, saying, “If you get closer, I’m not responsible for what happens to you.”

 

Of course, the stupid blond ignored it and came closer, sitting on the bed. He asked, “What happened? Terra said he had tried calling you multiple times and had been looking for you all over, but you’re here…and you were crying.”

 

Vanitas felt himself snap and he threw himself at Ventus, causing the blond to be surprised as they tumbled to the floor. By the grace of who the hell knows what, the black-haired boy felt his energy just leave him, and instead of pounding in the blond’s face in like he was about to, he just fell against his chest instead. He was so tired of beating himself up, he couldn’t even manage to beat someone up for it, but maybe it was good he couldn’t, since Ventus’ fingers lightly smoothed through his hair, and maybe just maybe he thought Ventus had a cute enough face not to always seem so punchable. “It’s going to be okay, Vanitas. We’re here for you, no matter what happens, okay?”

 

The black-haired boy sniffed and said, “You’re such an imbecile. Ugh, I hate you—I hate _all_ of you.”

 

“You don’t mean that.”

 

Okay, he’ll take his earlier thought back a little because that made him punch Ventus in the chest once, making him go ‘oof’. But he did let the stupid blond hold him for a little bit.

 

…

 

A few hours later, Terra came home, and when Vanitas saw him completely drenched, he almost felt guilty for not answering his phone. Almost.

 

Terra looked relieved as he said, “Vanitas! You’re here…why didn’t you pick up your phone? We were supposed to head back home today together, and I’d thought something had happened. I mean, it’s fine if you just let me know, because plans can change, but I—”

 

Vanitas scowled and said, “—Save it. You were too busy fooling around with that girl.”

 

The brunet’s expression just falls, but Vanitas isn’t blind to the guilty look on his face. “It’s not what it looked like. I just…it ended up being like that because she was just pushy, and I was surprised. I’m sorry, I ended up freezing up, but it wasn’t because I liked her or anything.”

 

The black-haired boy considered his words and asked, “…Really?”

 

Now Terra looked sheepish, rubbing the back of his head. “Yeah. Not one of my best moments.”

 

Though he wanted to also say something else and so he took a deep breath. “Look, Vanitas, there’s been something I’ve wanted to tell you. I don’t know when it happened, but I lov—”

 

“—Liar.”

 

Terra kind of looked shocked at that, and then hurt…before something else came onto his expression. It wasn’t anything like the other boy had seen on him before, and it’s kind of made him feel nervous. It was a strange, dark expression, and before Vanitas knew it, Terra made sure to close the distance between them. An innocent-sounding question then left the brunet’s lips. “How about I’ll prove it to you?”

 

Vanitas felt his back hit the bed, as Terra’s hands grasped his wrists, and held them above his head as his lips pressed gently, but insistently, against the black-haired boy’s. They were wet, as to be expected, but that made the kiss feel somehow all the more sensual, and to Vanitas’ surprise, Terra deepened it even if Vanitas allowed the other man’s tongue to slip right past his parted lips. He moaned softly as the brunet continued, pressing himself against Vanitas.

 

Finally, he pulled away and a trail of saliva was slipping down the flushed black-haired male’s lips. His golden eyes were now a little hazed as he gazed into Terra’s slightly darkened blue eyes. “Terra…”

 

Terra licked his lips and asked, “Is that good enough for you?”

 

Vanitas said in a shaky voice, “No, I need…a little more proof than that.”

 

Fuck he knew he was pushing it, but he couldn’t help it.

 

The brunet smiled slightly and moved forward to press his lips against the side of Vanitas’ neck, before biting down gently and then sucking. He heard the boy gasp and felt him buck his hips against him. “Please…Terra, _fuck_ me…”

 

Vanitas suddenly wanted Terra to fuck him where he was now, and honestly, he’d be lying if he’d said he hadn’t wanted or imagined it before. Terra, above him, taking advantage of him or even forcing himself on him even if the fantasy was kind of messed up. Or even if Terra just went about it his own way but made sure to fuck him so hard he’d pass out.

 

Except Terra just pulls away, leaving Vanitas just kind of hot and bothered, and a little upset. “Hey, what’re you—”

 

Terra’s face looked flushed like his and he looked like he wanted Vanitas too, but he asked, “…Are you sure about this, Vanitas?”

 

“Why the fuck are you asking me this _now_? Yes I’m fucking sure! So just hurry up and— _aah_!”

 

Vanitas felt the brunet’s hand grab him right where the bulge in his pants was, squeezing it, and making him let out a few stuttered gasps as his body trembled. His hand felt so strong, and powerful—it’d definitely feel amazing on his cock, he decided.

 

It looks like Terra had the same idea as the brunet’s hand unzipped the front of his pants and reached in past the waistband of his boxers to grab a hold of his wet, hard cock to begin jerking him off fast and hard. It caused Vanitas to moan deeply, eyes going up as he gasped desperately, bucking his hips, his inexperience making this entire experience ten times more enjoyable. He wasn’t surprised when he came rather quickly and hard with another moan, his underwear definitely stained with that white liquid.

 

Terra pulled away from him, looking at his own stained hand after wiping it against his own pants. Part of him couldn’t even believe he just did that. But, he couldn’t help it, especially if Vanitas clearly wanted it, and his mind had a nice idea of what he should do with Vanitas—later on, though. He didn’t quite feel comfortable with doing that despite what images his head was feeding him right now. Which were of Vanitas bent over while the brunet fucked him _hard_ , the raven-haired boy crying out Terra’s name in pure ecstasy.

 

“Hey, what about you?

 

The question shocked the brunet out of his daze and he began to say, “Uh, w—”

 

Then the two heard Aqua call from downstairs, “Ventus and I finished dinner! You three should come on down already!”

 

Three, as in Roxas, Terra and Vanitas.

 

Terra blinked and said with a sigh, “Looks like we’re going to have to wait on that.”

 

Vanitas just scowled and said, “They can wait a few minutes.”

 

Before the brunet could protest, the black-haired boy reached out to grab Terra’s obvious excitement, causing any words to swallow in a heightened intake of breath. Vanitas squeezed, loving the soft gasp that escaped him, and he said, “It’s your turn. What’s the point if we don’t both feel good?”

 

At another squeeze, Terra gasped out, “Y…yeah…”

 

Vanitas smirk as he said, “C’mon, roll over so I can get on top of you. It’s easier this way.”

 

Luckily the brunet had no problem with doing that, and instead of Vanitas keeping it in the male’s clothing, Terra found that his probably-soon-to-be-boyfriend had decided it’d be better to take the man’s length out of his pants once he’d gotten the zipper down. He felt kind of embarrassed, but it went away with a haze of pleasure when Vanitas decided (logically) that he’d need two hands to squeeze and rub Terra’s hardness. It felt _so_ good, and it’s been awhile since he was touched down there—it didn’t take very long for Terra to release with a deep moan, hips bucking eagerly into Vanitas’ touch.

 

Terra then said, “Alright, let’s get go—"

 

Vanitas said, “You know it’d be dumb to go downstairs in wet clothes, right? _And_ we’re going to need to shower after that.”

 

Terra felt kind of embarrassed (again) when Vanitas just snickered at him, so he decided it was time to pinch his cheeks and watch him flail and yell at him.

 

…

 

By the time the two came downstairs, they were re-dressed, showered it was a half-hour. Aqua didn’t look impressed as she said, “I don’t mind that it took you awhile, but let me know next time so I could know whether or not I need to put away the food. Alright?”

 

At the very least both of them looked kind of sheepish, Vanitas only because he knew that he was up to something private and it felt kind of embarrassing for once. Though he just said, “Whatever.”

 

Terra nudged him, making Vanitas grumble—the brunet then sighed and said, “Yeah, both of us are sorry.”

 

Roxas, who had just finished his plate, said with a smirk, “It’s alright. I think I can figure out what happened.”

 

Terra’s face turned beet red, followed by a flush on Vanitas’ face, and then Roxas escaped, leaving a confused Ventus and Aqua still in the room. The black-haired male said, “I’m going to kill him.”

 

Except he didn’t get far because Terra held him back by his shirt and then Vanitas gave up his pursuit and settled for dinner. Ventus then said as he put away his dishes, “I’m glad you two worked it out. I was kind of worried something might’ve happened between you guys.”

 

Aqua nodded. “I was too. But it looks like my own worries were unfounded.”

 

Terra laughed and said, “You’re starting to sound like the Master.”

 

She coughed awkwardly and asked, “Is that really such a bad thing?”

 

Vanitas smirked as he said, “Next thing you know she’ll be doing one-hour lectures about the origin of heroes and shit.”

 

The blue-haired woman gave him a Look and said, “I can start lecturing about the origin of mathematical equations if you want.”

 

That wiped the smirk from Vanitas’ face. Damnit how did she know he hated the subject so badly…? He took a quick glance at Terra who looked sheepish and that told him everything.

 

…

 

Vanitas learned quickly that Roxas wasn’t a superhero of any sort, and he stayed out of the limelight. Looks like as opposed to Ventus, his twin, he hadn’t developed any powers, and honestly that probably had made the earlier battle against the three of the trio easier. Though, speaking of which, Vanitas had paused at the thought, feeling his chest clench. What if they found out who he really was? Would they hate him? Would…Terra kill him?

 

…He didn’t have to know. The villain that Xehanort so ruthlessly backed would be no more and for all intents and purposes, dead.

 

With that thought, any sense of anxiety finally left Vanitas and he let out a shuddering sigh of relief. He can’t believe his friendship with these idiots had brought him to this point, and technically, something more—

 

“Vanitas?”

 

The black-haired boy looked up from his math problems to look into the curious blue irises of his now-lover. Terra then continued asking, “Do you want to take a break? You seemed to be kind of spacing out.”

 

Vanitas smirked as he said, “Yeah sure. If you take me out on a date as my break.”

 

The brunet only smiled lightly and kissed Vanitas’ cheek, and liked the soft flush alighting the male’s pale cheeks afterwards. Then he teased, “So that was your plan, wasn’t it? Getting me to take you out on a date. Don’t worry, I don’t mind either way. I get to spend some time spoiling you and showing you just how much I love you…”

 

Vanitas then stuck out his tongue and said, “Ugh you’re going to crush me with your sweet nothings before I even get the chance to leave.”

 

Terra just laughed. “You know you love it.”

 

“Yeah…for some reason I do.”

 

“…Some reason?!”

 

…

 

Before Vanitas made his way outside due to Terra, Roxas bumped into him, and he fixed the blond a Look, but the other ignored him. He scowled but decided to leave it since Terra was taking him outside on a walk.

 

The two then just got some ice cream—it was almost time for summer vacation, and he couldn’t believe that so much time had flown. Vanitas had been doing better in math now, and … well, he had actually made sure to intensely ramp up his other studies to see about skipping a grade. He was only trying so hard because he wanted to come along with his new boyfriend (?).

 

…That’s right, the both of them were boyfriends now. Ever since that night.

 

Which means that he got Terra’s undivided attention for the most part, and Vanitas loved to make it a point to lean all over the brunet when they were in school as they were passing anyone who appeared to take far too much interest in his doofus of a lover than he was comfortable with. For the most part, sometimes Terra’s obliviousness did kick in at the worst times, but it also let him get away with things like this, and best of all… his lover never minded.

 

Though, he can’t believe he went from despising the brunet to something like _this_. He never could’ve foreseen it, but with him deciding to turn tail on all that he was brought up to be, Vanitas realized that he’s been having a better life. He…wanted it to stay this way.

 

So, he’ll simply never return back home, even when the old bastard returned. Simple enough.

 

“Vanitas? You’ve been pretty quiet.”

 

The two had been walking through a nearby forest and the black-haired male realized his moment of deep introspection made him kind of end up silent for awhile. Vanitas said truthfully, “Just thinking.”

 

Terra asked with a smile, “A piece of munny for your thoughts?”

 

“I was thinking about your dumb face, obviously.”

 

The brunet raises a brow, before he decides to lean in to kiss his cheek and then forehead, making Vanitas blush. “Can’t look away because you really like what you see?”

 

The black-haired boy felt his face grow hotter. It sounded like literally the dumbest thing, but Terra could embarrass him so easily. He just ended up giving a small huff, grabbed a hold of Terra’s hand tight and said, “If I didn’t, we wouldn’t be here together.”

 

Then he thought about adding something else. “…Why me, anyway?”

 

Terra looked confused for a moment and Vanitas scoffed, saying, “Nevermind.”

 

“When I first saw you, I knew.”

 

Vanitas had been taking care of his ice cream when Terra had answered, and the shock caused him to lose the hold on it, accidentally dropping the vanilla ice cream on the ground. But at the very least it was worth it, because the brunet had drew him close into his strong arms and soon the younger male was holding onto him instead. He asked, “What, is this some of that love at first sight crap?”

 

Terra felt his own cheeks flush as he asked, “And what if it is?”

 

Vanitas breathed for a moment and then:

 

“…I don’t think it’s a bad thing.”

 

…

 

When Vanitas opened his eyes, he found himself outside on a cloudy night, and the scene before him nearly took his breath away.

 

A certain hero lay on the ground in front of him and underneath him was a pool of blood; there was no mistaking that unkempt short blond hair and that gear from anywhere. When Vanitas tried to move, he found that he couldn’t—his legs were trapped in darkness, and though he tried, he couldn’t get it to bend to his will. He only found that he was sinking fast, until he saw only pitch black surrounding him.

 

It felt like he couldn’t breathe and—

 

…

 

Vanitas sat up in his bed with a gasp and looked to see that it was still early in the morning. It was two days before summer vacation began, and he was excited despite the crappy nightmare he’d just had. He wouldn’t worry about it now, anyway. Why should he? He had everyone that he needed right beside him – and speaking of which, he was shaking the sleeping giant buried underneath the covers right next to him. “Wake up, you big idiot. Jeez, you’re just as bad as _Ventus_.”

 

Terra murmured, “Just five more minutes…”

 

It was at that time Vanitas shoved him right off the bed and he smirked as the brunet basically let him get rolled right off, seeing as he was already nearly over the edge even under the blankets. There was a loud _thud_ as Terra met the ground. He hears a muffled, “You’re such a menace, Vani.”

 

Vanitas’ eyes practically _glowed_ in glee as he sat atop the bed and its covers. “Yeah I know—but you love me anyway.”

 

Terra smiled to himself sleepily as he moved into a sitting positioned, looking up at his adorable, trouble-making boyfriend. “…Yeah.”

 

…

 

A certain blond-haired boy in a black sleeveless shirt and pants was just forced to the ground, and before he could get up, someone started to kick him repeatedly in the stomach until the blond groaned out, “S-stop…”

 

Too bad it wasn’t only this someone who had forced the blond into this position. He also had ‘friends’ with him who’d decided to pick on a new target today – except their current victim had a mouth on him more than they’d like, so it’d come to blows. Unfortunately, this blond wasn’t going to do much against six people when he was only one. And it sucked that today his friends weren’t with him when it happened.

 

These people were older classmates while the blond was just a sophomore, and the blond just about hated his life when one of them said, “You should beg. Then maybe we’ll consider leaving you alone.”

 

“Like I’d ever do that!”

 

One of the jocks just snorted, and said, “Alright, your funeral then.”

 

The blond cringed, shutting his eyes tight when he saw another foot coming his way.

 

Except the blow didn’t reach him and instead, he opened his eyes to see that the six were on the floor, knocked out and standing a little ways from them was a certain black-haired boy with golden eyes. It was just a second, but the blond doesn’t think he imagined something like shadows drawing back into him. His hands were in his pockets and he had a dangerous smile on his lips.

 

One of the boys was bleeding, but he didn’t seem to care. Then, the boy asked, “Roxas, right? It must be a pain in the ass that you can’t just fend them off with an ability. But don’t worry, I took care of them for you.

 

Some idiots just don’t learn their lesson.”

 

Roxas managed to rise to his feet and he asked, “…What’d you do to them?”

 

Vanitas shrugged and replied, “Just roughed them up a little. Don’t worry _that_ one isn’t going to bleed out – I saw you looking at him. It’s just a superficial wound and I barely had time to draw him back before he could land another hit on you.

 

But, if he’s hurt you worse than what it looks like, I could always just break his leg. Ruin his life forever, and all of that. Might as well, since you can’t do anything to hurt them—not anything like Ventus could, anyway.”

 

The blond wiped his lip and shook his head. “Not worth the time.

 

...I’m not powerless, you know. I just—my powers aren’t good for fighting.”

 

“Oh? What’re they, then?”

 

Roxas just frowned and said, “None of your business; let’s just go.”

 

Vanitas frowned. How ungrateful of him, he had just rescued him, and this is the thanks he gets? As Roxas moves to leave, the black-haired boy blocked his path, as darkness began to ooze out of him. Before he could harass him, though, the blond said, “I didn’t say thanks, did I?

 

Well, thanks.”

 

Just like that, the darkness dissipated, and Vanitas looked just grouchy before heading back down the stairs, with Roxas following close by. “…And thanks for not strangling my brother and my friends in their sleep.”

 

At that, though, Vanitas just snorted. “Your fucking welcome.”

 

…

 

“Van!”

 

Vanitas knew who it was even before the person responsible for the horrid nickname rounded the corner. He groaned when said person hugged him, much to the surprise of Roxas who _had_ been speaking to his friends until he heard the small bit of commotion. The black-haired boy pried Ventus off of him, who said, “I heard about what you did earlier today. I knew you were a good person after all…”

 

The black-haired boy just scowled. “Ugh, I didn’t do it because I cared. I’m done, let’s go home. And stop looking at me like that…”

 

Roxas smiled a little to himself as he watched Ventus take Vanitas’ hand, but the other boy didn’t object for once. Then he turned to his friends and said, “I need to go. See you guys later.”

 

One of them, who was a fiery red head gave a lazy hand wave. “Sure, see you tomorrow, Rox.”

 

…

 

“Why don’t you become a superhero too, Van?”

 

Vanitas grimaced at Ventus’ question. “It’s impossible; besides my power is absolute darkness and I know your Master would have a fit if he knew I was using it in league with the rest of you and your friends.”

 

Ventus frowned and said, “I’d thought that darkness was a pretty bad thing, but you know, I think I was wrong. Maybe Master just didn’t know any better – if we showed him that it doesn’t mean it’s always a sign of evil, he’d get it too, I think.”

 

The black-haired boy snorted. “Forget it, he wouldn’t care. He’d probably just want to obliterate me on the _spot_.”

 

The green-clad blond stopped walking. “I wouldn’t let him do that.”

 

Rainfall came, and silence hung between the three as it had made the other two stop in their walk as well, and Ventus opened up a green umbrella to hold over them. Then Roxas said, “I wouldn’t either. My gratitude didn’t end with a single ‘thanks’. I bet Aqua and Terra would feel the same way.”

 

Vanitas scoffed and said, “If I were a villain, you’d both want me dead. “

 

Both of the blonds looked at each other, before Ventus countered, “No, we wouldn’t. I’d convince you to be a hero or someone who isn’t a villain at all instead!”

 

At that, the black-haired boy fell silent—he didn’t even know what he’d even say that if he’d already supposed worked it out he wouldn’t worry about it. But, with his kind of power, being a hero…

 

He wondered, was it possible? If he was going to really turn against Xehanort…not only did he feel that the image he made before as a villain needed to die, but he wasn’t satisfied on sitting on the sidelines. It was only now that he realized he wanted to do something else, but it was more out of spite than anything.

 

He was going to show him _he_ didn’t need him anymore.

 

…

 

Aqua and Terra arrived late; apparently, they had to deal with a villain after doing some shopping for some essentials.

 

Vanitas lounged lazily on the couch as Roxas and Ventus helped the other two put the groceries away – until Aqua moved in front of him to block the TV show the black-haired boy was watching, forcing him to get up and help. Though not without some grumbling.

 

Then, in the midst of this, laughing and joking between the other four, he suddenly said, “Hey, you guys have those ‘patrols’, right? Next time, take me on them.”

 

Ventus said, “Sure!”

 

Aqua turned at him and said, “Ven wait,” then she continued, “Are you sure, Vanitas? What we do can often be very dangerous—”

 

“I’m sure.”

 

At that, Aqua and Terra looked at each other, before the brunet looked back at Vanitas, and replied, “Alright, if you’re sure. But it’ll only be one when we’re all out, just so we got our bases covered.”

 

The blue-haired woman frowned a little and then she sighed, saying, “We’re also very aware of the type of power you have, but…I also have a feeling if we said no now you’d probably just sneak out and do something anyway.”

 

Vanitas felt himself tense and asked, “What, do you think having the power of darkness is dangerous? That I’d fucking kill you right out—”

 

Aqua interrupted, “—That’s not what I’m saying. You’re inexperienced, so we’re concerned about anything happening with you—Terra and I are, anyway.”

 

Ventus pouted and said, “You’re making it sound like I don’t care…”

 

At that, though Roxas snorted. “I’m sure he already knows, even without you saying.”

 

As Vanitas heard Ventus ask ‘ _Really?_ ’ and some reassurance in the background, he just sighed. “Fine, whatever. I’m good at fighting too, you know. And hey, maybe I can help keep Ventus from getting killed by his own stupidity.”

 

“Hey!”

 

Aqua gave Vanitas a Look, who just smirked.

 

Terra also gave him a Look before he replied, “Even if you are good at fighting, there’s a difference between having experience fighting and having experience fighting as a Hero.”

 

He hated that he had the hardest time of all arguing with both Terra and Aqua the most—even Xehanort had been easier to argue with when he felt being contrary. But he accepted it, heading upstairs with the brunet when the man made a move to go in that direction, and he felt an arm slide around his waist as he did so. Vanitas asked, “How was the fight?”

 

Terra smiled and said, “It wasn’t too bad. There was some property damage, but we stopped the guy from rampaging too much—it’s been nothing like our fights with the Veiled Darkness, for example.”

 

Those words nearly made Vanitas’ heart stop. That was one thing he didn’t consider—would they recognize the kind of power he had as the darkness belonging to that villain moniker he’d made for himself? Well, as long as he doesn’t bring out the Unversed, it shouldn’t be obvious, right?

 

Vanitas sighed and then asked, “How’d you guys figure it out? That I had darkness as my power. Did Ventus or Roxas blab about today?”

 

As they went further into their room, Vanitas reluctantly moved away from Terra so he could begin to change from his wet attire to something more dry. His eyes felt planted as the brunet pulled off his own shirt and he swallowed thickly at the sight of just his naked back. He heard Terra just say, “No, actually. Both Aqua and I were able to sense it – I was able to tell sooner than her… well, I have an affinity to it too. I’m not a fan of it, but it was just always something that was there, even though I had super strength – maybe it was because things didn’t start out great for me, but…

 

I didn’t want to mention I did just in case it was something you didn’t want to talk or think about. Aqua thought the same.”

 

Vanitas snorted. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of, so why should I care about that?”

 

There’s a moment’s pause in which Vanitas wondered about something, and asked, “Are _you_ ashamed about it? Having that sort of power?”

 

He watched the brunet tense briefly as he managed to grab a hold of a shirt and heard him say, “…I’m not ashamed. I just—you might’ve been, and I didn’t know whether you were or not.”

 

That only made him think, _Yeah that sure was completely and utterly convincing. Except not._

Vanitas then said, “Well, you guys are fine with it, but what about the oh-so-beloved Master who hates darkness with a passion? I bet he’d want me executed once he returns and as so much as has an inkling about the true nature of my existence.”

 

Terra immediately turned around and god bless him, he still hadn’t put on a shirt. His expression looked gobsmacked, however, and the white shirt still was clutched in his hands. “He wouldn’t do that! I know there’d be a way to convince him; you’re nothing like any of the villains out there who use darkness to hurt others. What happened earlier today proved that.”

 

Vanitas laughed bitterly and asked, “And if you couldn’t convince him? Would I really be worth the trouble – for _any_ of you?”

 

Terra frowned, and the black-haired boy swallowed thickly, feeling panic began to rise up in him. He was going to abandon him, wasn’t he? Already he was proving to be too much—just like before—and they’ll just all leave him behind, making him _crawl_ back to that—

 

“It doesn’t matter, none of us would leave you.”

 

Vanitas began to ramble, “Did you know, hah—did you know that I had a brother? My parents just…didn’t give a shit because he was so much _better_. He wasn’t the one tainted, they thought—I had so much of an affinity with darkness that it was so hard to control and so they tossed me out with the trash. And then my new _Father_ didn’t think twice about leaving me to die if I couldn’t live up to his expectations, or so how’d it be every training session…but I had nothing else!

 

So, that’s why…maybe that’s why…I feel so _we_ —no, feel that maybe it’ll happen. If it gets inconvenient, that you’ll all just…leave!”

 

Before he realized it, Terra had hugged him, discarding the shirt on the floor, and Vanitas hated it, having outbursts like this. He had more of a handle on his powers so that he wasn’t unleashing monsters everywhere, but it was a colossal effort not to, and the only reason he’d bothered to just _not_ was because he didn’t want to be hated by them. They’d know…as soon as they’d see the Unversed.

 

It was hard to admit any of this, but around these people, his defenses had fallen. It was something he’d never had imagined would happen before. After awhile of silence and returning Terra’s embrace, letting him sink in that warmth, he felt like he came back into himself, and pulled away, taking a breath. “…You better keep your mouth shut about all of this or I swear—”

 

Before Vanitas could say anything, Terra had gently kissed him, causing him to blush and the brunet to say, “Trust me, this isn’t something I’m going to be telling everyone. And just remember that I’d never leave you, Vani, because at the end of the day, I’ll always love you. No matter who or what you are.”

 

That sounded like some of the cheesiest bullshit Vanitas had ever heard in his life, but it didn’t sound like anything remotely fake. So, he felt himself relax further, and he laughs, but it’s kind of softer now. He also returns the kiss, and it’s about as gentle he’d ever get. Then, when he pulls away, he said, “You’re an idiot for picking me.”

 

Terra just laughed and said, “That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard anyone said to me.”

 

Vanitas felt his face flush. “Shut up.”

 

Then, Vanitas felt his hands move over Terra’s bare chest…it was so strong, and so many other things he couldn’t find a word for, but it was hard not to appreciate it from afar, and that didn’t change with him so close. When he looked back up into Terra’s eyes, he found that those blue eyes were staring at him with wonder, with a hint of probably something else more salacious. Or maybe that was just Vanitas’ imagination.

 

Vanitas leaned upwards for another kiss and this time when Terra returned it, he made sure to press up against the other male, pushing him against the wall as the moment turned more passionate. Then, Terra moved his knee to press against the other male’s crotch insistently, making Vanitas gasp softly, and wonder how the hell the brunet seemed to know what he was doing. He’d assumed the brunet didn’t know a thing about this sort of thing, but the first time he was proven wrong. Or maybe Terra was just going on instinct.

 

Before Vanitas knew it, his pants had slid down to his ankles and Terra had him in his hand, making him moan and thrust out his hips against him. “Nnngh— _ahh_!”

 

He gasped out, “Terra…please…in me…”

 

Vanitas could see the conflict in Terra’s eyes, but knew he wanted it too. “Are you sure, Vanitas?”

 

He moaned out, “ _Just_ …do it!”

 

However, he didn’t expect Terra to just let go and then decide to sink to his knees, before taking him right into his mouth with ease. Vanitas felt an intense spark of pleasure run up his spine, mouth dropping open as his eyes rolled back, and his mind went blank because _fuck_ , Terra decided it was a good time to suck him. He couldn’t even wonder if Terra was just playing at being contrary because it felt so _good_ , and thoughts were more muddled when he tried to think through any of this. Before he knew it, he was about to release, and he said, “T-Terra, I…I—!”

 

This only made Terra take him in deeper and _fuck_ , he cried out as he did, and couldn’t keep himself from releasing right into the brunet’s mouth. He watched the brunet with half-lidded eyes as he swallowed and then Vanitas’ face had a look of disbelief. “What, that’s fucking di—how did you even—?”

 

Before he could say anymore, Terra had picked him up and placed him right onto the bed, likely before he could protest...which worked pretty well, to his chagrin because his head felt dizzy from all of that. “Hold on a moment.”

 

When the brunet returned, he easily began to prepare the younger male by sticking in a finger coated in some substance, carefully and gently. To Vanitas’ frustration, it took him quite awhile to get it to two fingers, but he bit his lip to keep himself from complaining. He’s seen what Terra looks like naked and while he’s not too adverse to pain, he’d very much not like there to be too much of it where this act is going to be taking place. When the brunet had three in, it was very much an uncomfortable affair, up until they pressed against something inside of Vanitas that sent something like a very pleasurable shock and made him arch his back as a gasp escaped him.

 

Terra began to rub his fingers against that spot, making Vanitas moan out in pleasure and press himself eagerly into those fingers. “ _Ha-aah! M_ -more, p-please…!”

 

To his disappointment, the brunet drew away his fingers, but soon lined up his cock with his entrance. Vanitas could feel the hardness then press into him slowly and carefully, making the black-haired male bite his lip. Terra’s blue eyes had a haze to them now, but he said, “Let me know if it’s too much for you – or if it hurts, alright?”

 

Vanitas bit his lip and when it looked like somehow the brunet’s expression was going to look kind of displeased he rolled his eyes and said, “Yeah, whatever.”

 

He panted as the male’s sheer girth stretched him good, and he was pretty glad that Terra _had_ made sure to prepare him properly. It stung a little, but he relaxed as best as he could, hoping he could take all of the brunet inside of him. At some point, Terra did stop, and he could tell that the man was watching his expression too for any other signs it’d hurt. Still, he asked, “Is it alright to move now?”

 

Vanitas growled and said, “It’s fine, just do it already!”

 

Terra complied, his movements careful and slow at first, but still making Vanitas tremble because of how big he was – he’s never felt this _full_ before, and it was starting to feel good after awhile. It must’ve been obvious to the brunet, because his pace undeniably sped up around then, making Vanitas moan as his hips rolled upwards to meet him. There was a pleasant buzz in him at being finally fucked like this and then Terra’s hips suddenly snapped forward, allowing his cock to slam all the way into the hilt and ram into a sensitive spot deep within that made Vanitas cry out in pleasure.

 

Vanitas gasped, “P-Please, more—fucking _harder_!”

 

Terra’s hands gripped Vanitas’ hips a bit more tightly, before shifting the black-haired boy so his legs were around him, and then he fulfilled Vanitas’ wishes by leaning forward as well as beginning to pound into _that_ place hard and fast. “M-mnh! Ah! _AHH_!!”

 

Terra’s lips pressed gently against Vanitas’ neck and the brunet gasped out, “So…tight…”

 

Vanitas had tears rolling down his cheeks as he felt the sensation between his legs explode with pleasure, Terra not even so much as letting up at all. His golden eyes rolled back when the brunet’s hand wrapped around his hard cock, which had been leaking precum generously, and pumped it at an unforgiving rate and grip, squeezing at every chance he had. “G-gonna…! I-I’m gonna c-cum! _T-Terra_!”

 

Terra bit down into Vanitas’ neck and thrust into him at the same time, making Vanitas orgasm with a pleasured scream, his cum splattering hard against the two of them as Terra’s release came almost simultaneously, filling the other male up good. A bit of drool slipped down Vanitas’ lip before his head lolled back and he slipped unconscious.

 

…

 

Vanitas found himself stumbling into the bathroom a few hours later, managing to get himself from Terra’s embrace, which was done presumably before he’d fallen asleep. He actually felt good as he ran the shower and made sure to lazily clean himself up. Then he stopped scrubbing, looking at the marks on his skin—now faded but forever scarred by darkness.

 

_“I’m the only one who can give you what you want.”_

_“There is no place in this world for the weak. A fact that I am sure you have learned earlier on.”_

_“This is for your own good. Remember that, boy.”_

_“You’re an abomination; a monster. No one else would ever want you—why not strike back at the world? Give what society would give to you. Hatred, pain, and **suffering**. Then and only then would you be able to finally set things right—back to how it should be…”_

He snorted at the painful memories running through his head. He’s getting to prove the old man AND the world wrong, by having people willing to stand by his side, as well as deciding for himself to show them all that his power could be used for their benefit. Part of him wonders if his family would come crying back for him then, and he can already picture their faces now, smirking to himself.

 

Feeling doubly satisfied now, he stepped out of the shower and headed back to his bed, making sure to snuggle up next to Terra, who automatically resumed to wrap an arm around him again.

 

…

 

Looks like Vanitas passed his classes with flying colors – maybe he should thank Terra after all of his hard work and all of that.

 

Then the sound of a ringtone distracted him from his thoughts.

 

Vanitas picked up his phone, as he was between classes and entering a period of lunch. It’d begun ringing _again_ and he actually had some time to answer—in retrospect, he probably should’ve looked at the number properly. But, so few called the phone that he didn’t think of it.

 

“I’ve returned. I expect to see you back home by 9 pm. There are some matters we need to discuss; do you understand?”

 

Vanitas didn’t respond. He thought he’d already settled his feelings towards the old bastard, but for some reason, he felt himself freeze up. The walls seemed to turn grey and the words of his chattering classmates turned indistinct as the voice on the other line prodded at him to give a confirmation. Instead, the black-haired boy ended the call without saying a word.

 

He was trembling, and dragged himself through the hall, barely cognizant of his surroundings. He eventually sat at the same spot he always did, with Terra, Ventus, Aqua, and sometimes Roxas.

 

Maybe they noticed his zoned out state because Aqua asked, “Vanitas, is something wrong?”

 

Vanitas stared at his food. He hated talking about it—even if he viewed them as friends now. He hadn’t even given the name of the old man to them yet. His hands clenched tight into fists, until he felt a hand gently laid upon his shoulder. Of course it was Terra, looking at him gently and telling him that it’ll be alright, that they’d all be there for him.

 

But maybe it was because of that that he was able to take a breath and release it. “The old bastard contacted me. He wants me to come back home.”

 

Before Vanitas could say anymore, Ventus suddenly stood up and said, “No way! He could deal.”

 

Roxas nodded. “Yeah, you’re with us now. You don’t owe him anything.”

 

Vanitas scowled and just said, “I already know that.”

 

However, he found his words weren’t with as much venom as they could’ve been, and somehow he felt reassured. Even if he knew he wasn’t going to go back to him—he couldn’t. He had people who actually cared about him now…he looked at all of them again, and he just shook his head. “All of you…are kind of stupid sometimes.”

 

Aqua made a face and asked, “Is that something you should say about your friends?”

 

Vanitas smirked and said, “Yeah it is.”

 

Then, he began to flail when Terra moved a hand to pinch at his cheek.

 

…

 

Today, Vanitas was going home with Terra, and it was the last day of school. Or well, that was what he’d planned, until the brunet said, “Hey, we should go into town. I’m sure you want some new clothes by now.”

 

The black-haired boy shrugged. “If you’re buying, then sure.”

 

They arrived to the clothing store, and Vanitas paused as Terra began to enter, before he said, “You can go in first. I’ll be in there in a second.”

 

The brunet raised a brow but shrugged himself before heading in, and once he did, Vanitas got out his phone, turning it so that he snapped a photo of himself and the clothing store. He then typed in the topic “Bf & I bout 2 do some long due clothes shopping” before posting it on some lame image-sharing networking site Ventus had managed to (badger) get him into. Then he smiled, before shoving the phone into his pocket, sure to take some more pictures later on.

 

A sudden breeze came along, and the black-haired boy covered his face. When it died down, he saw that a certain old man was standing in the middle of the road, and in reflex he took a step back. “Maybe it was a mistake to have you placed into a school that was less…restrictive. Ah, well, children will always be rebellious, won’t they?”

 

Vanitas felt the darkness begin to seep out of him as he snarled, “Maybe I should put an end to you right now—”

 

Except his words stopped at the sound of a gun’s click and he turned to see that there was another man, who he didn’t know, with black hair and two guns in his hands. The younger man said, “Ah, ah, ah, I don’t think so. Why don’t you go listen to pops and run along back home?”

 

Before Vanitas could give even any semblance of a retort, he heard the slamming of a door opening behind him. Terra’s voice rang out, “Vanitas? What’s going on?”

 

Then when Terra’s eyes landed on the gunman, he immediately went to touch an amber-colored wristband, which put him immediately into costume, and he positioned himself in front of Vanitas, glaring him down. “Put down the weapon or I’ll make you regret it.”

 

Vanitas scowled. He didn’t need a protector, but… his eyes landed on Xehanort. It’d be easier not to fight two-on one since the numbers were evened out. He didn’t want to use his Unversed lest Terra discover who his other side was. Darkness began to run along his fingertips as clouds darkened above, the sound of thunder blaring mutely within them. Then he said, “That old man over there is my Father and that’s some asshole he probably recruited.”

 

Xehanort raised a brow, before a smile of sorts came across his lips. “My boy, is it not strange to greet your parent with affection? Yet, I suppose it would no longer concern you, considering you’ve become the greatest ever to roam these streets…”

 

“…The Veiled Darkness, that is.”

 

Terra immediately turned his head at that to ask, “What?!”

 

Vanitas’ eyes widened before they narrowed, and he called down an onslaught of dark lightning, trying to strike down Xehanort in the process. “Do us a favor and shut your mouth. I’m not him, or anything like him.”

 

 When the dust cleared, Vanitas saw _someone_ slump to the ground and grinned maddingly. Finally… _finally_! He killed the bastard, and he began to laugh, the sound twisted and more alike to when he went on his villainous rampages. “Vanitas! You can’t just go around killing people, even if they are villains.”

 

Vanitas scowled and turned to face Terra. “Don’t be stupid. I’m doing society and myself a favor – besides he deserves it. You know that! _You know what he did to me! Don’t you dare take this away from me!!_ ”

 

Then he heard shuffling and turned to see that the person on the ground wasn’t Xehanort. It was just some nameless nobody in a black coat who’d gotten in the way, hood up which shrouded their identity completely, and Vanitas growled in irritance, feeling the darkness pulse all around him. And the creatures just _begging_ to be unleashed, while Terra stared the other man down, as his opponent had proven to be more agile than the brunet expected (having dodged his strikes by liberal usage of teleportation.)

 

Xehanort sighed. “I didn’t foresee losing one of my pawns so soon. But it is what it is. Braig, stand down. It appears that we’re going to go the more complicated route.”

 

The man with the gun, now standing on top of a building, seemed about to release the trigger but then shrugged at the older man’s words. Right after, a dark portal opened, and another person emerged from it, wearing the same attire as the previous hooded individual. Only this time, the cloaked party had someone struggling within their arms – a certain blond, spiky-haired boy that Vanitas always thought was too naïve and shortsighted for his own good. The struggles stopped when the cloaked assailant brought a sharp dagger next to his neck, the metal pressing into his neck, and beginning to draw blood.

 

Terra’s eyes widened, and he let out a shout, “VEN! Stop—!”

 

Xehanort began to talk about something, how he couldn’t _hide_ anymore unless he wanted to save his precious _friends_ , and other such nonsense about cooperating with him to give him what they’d agreed to produce—the ultimate chaos. There was more, but Vanitas couldn’t hear it over the sound of his moment where he’s sure he just lost his entire shit because he just let out a scream, and then there was just darkness.

 

Vanitas could feel the creatures crawl out of him, like a dam being unleashed, with their own cries as they flooded the area.

 

Then, there were _voices_ , telling him to _stop_ , but it didn’t matter, when he saw the blood run on the concrete, and bodies falling in half. He couldn’t think but feel an absurd amount of glee at their suffering and when he stood over his fallen so-called Master, the dark veil faded into obscurity. His hands no longer resembled human hands but rather dark claws, and his facial expression wore a horrid, sharp grin.

 

 _This_ was what he was meant for after all, wasn’t he?

 

And now that they’ve seen what he’s capable of, and know who he truly was, there’s no way they’ll ever let him leave this place alive. So, he turned on them—Aqua first, who’d just arrived and who had vanquished the last of the Unversed, which had sent another vibration of pain that he ignored, since she was the most dangerous. He began to advance, holding his claw above her, up until Terra had intervened, snatching his wrist and only stopping him easily with the amount of strength that had been granted to him. “ _Vanitas, stop_! There’s no reason to fight anymore, and we’re not going to hurt you either!”

 

As his senses truly came back to him, Vanitas’ expression darkened, and he asked, “Why? You know who I really am now, and you’ve seen me like _this_. Why wouldn’t you just finish the job!?”

 

Terra shook his head, but still felt his own heart pounding. “Even if things got chaotic after what happened, what you did…it saved Ven. And I know the real you – the one I love – doesn’t want to do any of this.”

 

Vanitas’ expression looked confused and his hand that he’d been trying to pull away from Terra’s grip just kind of stopped, making Aqua release a sigh of relief. Ventus came closer with a smile, and once Vanitas saw the other blond, he just sighed. Aqua probably healed that cut on his neck when she swooped in and…the black-haired boy’s eyes swept across the area, which looked heavily trashed.

 

There were upturned cars, blood splashed along the asphalt, with a few bloodied cloaked bodies and the bodies of his so-called parental figure along with Braig lying still as the dead. The black covering Vanitas’ skin receded to reveal the normal pale color and the claws seemed to dissipate into thin air, leaving his normal fingers exposed. Vanitas gave a harsh laugh after he realized something and said, “You’re going to probably want me to turn myself in. Aren’t you?”

 

Terra frowned and said, “No. We’ll handle this, alright?”

 

Aqua frowned and looked at the brunet, saying, “Terra…”

 

The brunet sighed himself as he brought Vanitas close to him. “… I know. But he didn’t hurt any bystanders, so maybe we’ll be able to spin it as infighting.”

 

“Terra! We can’t just _lie_ about what happened.”

 

Terra’s expression became shadowed. “I did something similar right before the Master stumbled upon me and he covered it up, didn’t he? So, if we can’t—”

 

Aqua pressed her fingers against her nose. “—Alright. I understand.”

 

As horrible as it was, she didn’t want Vanitas to deal with the proceedings after all of this, and worse still if people knew of his powers they might try to pin it on him. There was just too much risk, she realizes, now that she thinks about it. Still, she looks worryingly at the black-haired boy now speaking to Ventus, and she hopes they made the right decision.

 

Aqua looked over as the authorities came to approach the situation after it had cooled down. But before she could meet with them first, she heard a sullen voice reach her.

 

“Sorry.”

 

She turned to face Vanitas, who’d finally separated himself from Terra and approached her. “Vanitas…?”

 

Vanitas snapped at her, “W-What?!”

 

She shook her head with a smile. “It’s nothing. But don’t expect for me to go easy on you—there’s going to be months of community service to make it up.”

 

The black-haired boy just sneered but he didn’t protest. When he didn’t, she began to think maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea, even if she still felt uneasy with all of that what’d happened.

 

…

 

From: Emo Ver. Of Ventus

 

Message: _I heard what you did today. Thanks._

_I mean it._

 

Vanitas snorted, and threw his phone right onto a pillow and turned to face the bathroom. “So are you guys going to bar me from trying to become a Hero after that or wh—”

 

A towel hit him in the face, causing him to nearly fall over. Said towel was from the brunet, still cleaning up from the bathroom but had a good arm and aim. Vanitas looked comically irritated after that as he threw it angrily to the floor. He heard Terra say, “No. But remember what we said about the patrols? That’s going to be something that’s happening.”

 

“…Whatever.”

 

Then something else came to the black-haired boy’s mind. “So, you did something similar to what I did? What was it all about?”

 

Vanitas sat on his bed, crosslegged as Terra emerged from the bathroom, and then the brunet went ahead to join him, sighing a little—it’s not something he wanted to talk about, but he figured Vanitas would want to know anyway. He wondered briefly if he’d even just said that because he was being selfish—well, of course he was. But, there was some truth to it too. “…My parents had some debts to pay off, but when it came to a head, these people came over and it got violent. I was under so much stress at that time that when I saw one of them come at me, I lost control of the darkness inside of me. I barely remember what happened, but … Master was the first one on the scene. There were a lot of people hurt at the time, but I don’t doubt that some people lost their lives that night.”

 

Terra sighed. “I was younger than you were – a few years, I think. But despite it all, Master took me in. He was committed to trying to find a way for me to overpower the darkness inside of me with light, but also making sure that I lived a happy life. So, that’s another reason why…even knowing what I know about you, when he learns what kind of power you have, he won’t hurt you.”

 

Vanitas scoffed and said, “You’re far too idealistic…”

 

He stopped speaking for a moment before he went on his own rant, because part of him was even surprised Terra told him this much. Despite the fact he was an open book, the brunet didn’t open up much about _his_ past. He wondered how hard it was for him to do this now?

 

The black-haired boy shifted and reached out to wrap his arms around him, smirking and feeling proud when he saw the surprised look on Terra’s face. “But that’s one of the reasons why _I_ love you. It’s bearable if it’s you.”

Terra smiled a little and leaned over to kiss Vanitas’ cheek. “I take back what I said a few days ago. This is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard anyone say to me.”

 

Vanitas closed his eyes, finally feeling fatigue fall over him and he muttered, “It better be.”

**Author's Note:**

> Also hi again, hopefully you all liked it! If you did, that'll make me happy. I also had no idea how to end but didn't know how to continue it either so there you go. I hope there'll be more Terravan fics in the future as well...
> 
> I almost didn't put this up because there was porn but...porn is originally the reason why I wrote this fanfic and then suddenly it had a plot. LOL


End file.
